The use of child vehicle safety seats is now required by law in most states. Conventional child vehicle safety seats have proven highly effective in reducing injuries to children when used properly. Unfortunately, research has shown that the design of most child vehicle safety seats available in the marketplace is such that many parents find installation in the vehicle to be quite complicated. Child vehicle seats are, therefore, often improperly installed, such that the seat provides no added protection for the child and may actually intensify potential injury to the child in the event of an accident.
There are a number of drawbacks associated with conventional child vehicle safety seats. For example, conventional child vehicle safety seats are designed to remain in one fixed position on the vehicle seat. The child seat restraining devices prevent essentially all movement of the child's upper torso. Depending on the degree of deceleration, these restraining devices apply proportional resistance pressures to the very child they are trying to protect and, as a result, may cause not only surface contusions but also serious internal injury.
Even more serious than these compression injuries is the injury potential caused by a sudden snapping forward of the child's head and any portions of the body extending above the location of the restraining devices, such as a lap strap, being employed.
Another drawback of conventional child vehicle safety seats is that they are typically most effective when they are placed in the back seat of the vehicle such that the child faces the rear of the vehicle. However, when the child is placed in this fashion, the driver is unable to view the child and, consequently, may be inclined to repeatedly glance backward, thereby taking his eyes off the road and creating the potential for an accident. Further, older children typically prefer facing forward when seated in a vehicle. Although head straps could be used to reduce whiplash when the child is placed in a forward seated position, this would simply not be an acceptable solution to either the child or a majority of parents.
Placing a child in a conventional child car seat in the front seat of a vehicle also poses an additional hazard where the vehicle is equipped with an airbag, as are most of today's vehicles. In particular, studies have shown that airbag deployment can actually cause head and neck injuries to children and even death.
Another drawback of most conventional one piece child vehicle safety seat designs is that the only manner of securing them to the vehicle seat is by threading the auto seat belts through tunnel-like openings which tend to be obscure and make proper placement very difficult.
Most vehicle safety belts are designed to provide a considerable amount of slack upon impact or rapid deceleration. They cannot truly hold a child vehicle safety seat firmly in place against the vehicle seat.
There is, therefore, a need for a child vehicle safety seat which is easily installed and allows the child to be placed in a forward seated position with less risk of injury.